1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the presentation of digital content on personal communication devices. In particular, the present invention relates to systematic scheduling of the presentation of digital content on personal communication devices.
2. Background Information
Over the last decade, there has been a tremendous increase in demand for new and better means of communicating and transferring data among consumers over communication networks. The Internet has played an important role in satisfying this demand, in that its development has spawned many new modes of communicating and sharing data, such as e-mail, chat, instant messaging, and video messaging. During its early development, consumers could only access the Internet and these new forms of digital content from a computer that was hard-wired to the Internet, either over a local area network, or via a modem. Recently, there has been a shift in consumer demand toward wireless communication and data sharing. People want access to all of these forms of communication and data transfer not only while they are at their desks, but also when they are on the move.
Many companies have tried to meet this demand by providing cellular phones and other wireless communicating devices which can transmit and receive Internet-type communications in addition to voice communications. However, because such phones have small display screens and limited data input devices, they typically rely on scaled down data transmission protocols, such as the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Although WAP devices can transmit textual and graphical data, they are extremely limited in bandwidth. As such, these devices and the digital content available with them do not provide a very interesting user experience.
Aside from the problem of providing a wireless device with which consumers can communicate using these Internet-type modes of communication, there is also the problem of determining what information to provide. The Internet has quickly become one of the world's largest sources of knowledge and information. The enormous size and scope of the Internet and other information networks often makes it impossible to find relevant information in a reasonable amount of time. The difficulty of obtaining relevant information from the Internet and other information networks in a timely fashion has given rise to the development of a wide variety of products and services which locate and sift through large volumes of data in an effort to disseminate particular information which is relevant to particular consumers. For example, consumers can subscribe to certain services which locate and periodically broadcast specified information to their subscribers. This technology is often referred to as “push” technology, in that the information, or digital content, is pushed from the information provider to the subscriber.
It is not uncommon for push-technology service providers to have each subscriber fill out an initial questionnaire at the beginning of the subscription in order to obtain certain information about the subscriber. Such questionnaires typically include questions directed to the subscriber's biographic, demographic, and economic background. The digital content that is broadcast by these service providers to their subscribers is typically controlled solely by the service provider, with no input from the subscriber, other than the subscriber's initial questionnaire or when the subscriber updates his profile. These systems are not designed for ongoing interaction between the subscriber and the service provider. Although such systems can provide periodic broadcast of digital content or information, such as the transmission of a daily e-mail of news or information, they are not designed to provide the most appropriate digital content at the most appropriate time for the subscriber. Other than the subscriber “unsubscribing,” the service provider has no way of knowing whether the subscriber is still interested in the digital content offered by the service.
Although the devices and systems discussed above represent great strides in the areas of communication and presentation of digital content over personal communication devices, many shortcomings remain.